Tutto è permesso
by cheerioracheldivaquinn
Summary: Rome, 1501. The citizens of the city live under fear of constant attack from the Borgia and their armies. One day, Quinn Fabray comes home to discover the full tragedy of their power. And that's just the start of her problems. But that isn't to say there won't be a shining star to find too. AU, obviously. Loosely inspired by Assassin's Creed.


Rome, the figurative heart of the Italian Renaissance, was once the proud centre of an empire. But over time, corruption spread like disease through the political network of the city. Rodrigo Borgia became Pope Alexander VI in 1497, and allowed his family to rule the city, and the surrounding areas, with an Iron fist – in no small part due to their ties to the Templar order. Rome's glory crumbled its people all of a sudden impoverished. To nearly all, it seemed that life would never get better.

Until very recently, Quinn Fabray had felt the same way.

She had been hurrying home, a small loaf of bread under one arm, her father's sword, fresh from the blacksmith, in the other. That's whenshe saw the smoke rising from the chimney of her family's small home, and she was overwhelmed with the smell of charred flesh that burned her senses. And that's when the screams began. Courtesans and thieves were running alike, away from the crowd of guards, who were cutting through people like they were paper. The bread fell to the ground, forgotten, and Quinn ran, not away from the guards, but towards them, her father's sword clumsily swinging around. The guards were laughing at her, treating her like sport – until the heavy, steel blade came crashing into one particularly large man with a gruesome crunch, followed by the splash of blood and the thump, as his limp body fell to the ground. After starting in surprise, their faces contorted into rage, and Quinn began ducking and diving, her father's estoc flailing, occasionally managing to meet flesh, but with none of the control that the guards had.

That didn't stop her from trying. She caught a glimpse of steel darting towards her, and dodged, before kicking a guard in the chest, pushing his head onto her knee with the handle of the sword and knocking him out, blood smeared onto her hands. Spinning round, the butt of the blade collided with a man's chest, winding him on the ground, and before she allowed herself to think about just what she was doing, Quinn stuck the blade into his back, pulling it out, trying not to listen to the sick slurp that accompanied that. Turning round, she realised that five more guards had assembled around her, with more in the distance. They were all yelling, so much so that the calls were unintelligible, and suddenly Quinn felt as if she was going to die. Soothed by the knowledge that she finally knew her destiny, she almost took a level in strength, making up for her lack of skill with pure ferocity, the red and white uniforms of the guards were soon stained by mud and blood.

And yet, it wasn't enough to save her. For every guard she managed to cut down, two more came running, calling obscenities and alerting other guards to her presence. Meanwhile, the fire grew, her previous home falling into charred wood and splinters, other buildings slowly catching alight. Quinn felt a pang of regret, but pushed it away, jumping backwards over a beam and throwing a rock at the nearest guard, causing him to stumble.

Just as Quinn prepared to let her sword drop – and she supposed her family was dead by now, so it had to be her sword – and fall to the ground, a figure fell from the sky, and threw a knife into the back of the guard. Swinging round, the figure fought like the devil, slashing through men, not even waiting for the previous body to fall before they darted towards the next. Quinn stood, as if in a trance, before she heard the figure yell at her.

"Don't just stand there, donna-" He (the figure had a distinctly male voice, Quinn decided) was cut off, digging his blade into a guards throat, before continuing "-kill some of these cazzo!" Quinn shook her head in surprise at being addressed so coarsely, but quickly complied, stabbing her sword into the neck of the nearest guard, almost being able to ignore the jolt of guilt that flowed through her.

By the time Quinn stopped to catch her breath, almost all of the guards lay dead on the ground, with the others cowering in fear. The man walked up to her, concern on what little she could see of his face. "You're hurt." He said, softer than before, but with the same determination.

Quinn felt something wet on her forehead, and went to wipe it away. When she brought her hand down, she realised that it was her blood, and everything went black.

Authors Note.

So, this idea has been in my head for literally months. I just couldn't stop thinking about it, so here you go. Very short, I know, but it's more of an intro than anything - hopefully the next chapter will be longer. Actually, I am determined it will be.

This was inspired by my obsessive playing of Assassin's Creed Brotherhood - the renaissance is a fascinating period, and I loved exploring it in such detail.

I also loved the idea of... Well, that would be telling. You'll find out. If you want to, that is.

Next Chapter: Quinn wakes up, and learns more about her mysterious saviour. She finds somewhere to stay for now, and meets new, unexpected allies.


End file.
